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US-based Heller Financial arranged a A$350m bond issue in quiet Australian markets this week, taking advantage of continued good demand. The two tranche deal due in 2003 was split between a A$250m fixed rate tranche and a A$100m floating rate note (FRN) tranche. Due to demand the fixed rate tranche was increased in size from the original size of A$200m.

Deutsche Bank yesterday (Thursday) completed a $180m convertible bond issue for Taiwanese D-ram manufacturer ProMos Technologies, pricing the deal a day earlier than expected following strong demand. There is also a $20m greenshoe. The five year notes carry a zero coupon, a conversion premium of 17.5% (15%-20% indicated) and a two year put at 110.86% (109.22%-110.83% indicated), to yield 100bp over Treasuries. There is also a two year call subject to a 135% trigger. Deutsche estimated the bond floor at around 94.5 and the implied volatility at 23.

The market has reacted negatively to the decision by the UK's Cable & Wireless (C&W) to sell its Australian unit, Optus, to Singapore Telecommunications. At the time of the announcement the stock and cash offer was worth between A$14.9bn and A$16.1bn. But within days, the value of the offer had shrunk to between A$13.5bn and A$14.2bn as SingTel shares plunged 14% to an all-time low of S$1.88. Since the deal was made public - before the market opened on Monday - shares in SingTel plummeted 22%.

Despite lead manager JP Morgan's assertions last week that the S$300m sale of SembCorp Industries stock would go ahead, the deal was scrapped on Wednesday afternoon. The company announced that the fund raising in relation to acquisitions would not go ahead due to adverse global market conditions. Bankers report the book was barely covered when the issue was pulled.

SG this week kept up the busy pace of Australian structured finance business it has set this year with a A$500m issue from its in-house mortgage financing programme, Resimac. Residential Mortgage Acceptance Corp is a trust manager and servicer that funds mortgages for about 40 small originators in Australia, as well as for the larger AIMS Home Loans.

EuroWeek understands that Abbey National Treasury Services and Barclays Capital have won the mandate to arrange and underwrite some £1.45bn in debt facilities to support the politically sensitive acquisition of 46% and the voting rights of the UK’s National Air Traffic System (NATS) by The Airline Group.

EuroWeek understands that Abbey National Treasury Services and Barclays Capital have won the mandate to arrange and underwrite some £1.45bn in debt facilities to support the politically sensitive acquisition of 46% and the voting rights of the UK’s National Air Traffic System (NATS) by The Airline Group.

Fabian Hassel has joined ABN Amro in New York as managing director and head of the automotive group. He moved from UBS Warburg with his team, including Greg Kagay, who becomes a senior auto parts research analyst. Hassel headed the automotive group at PaineWebber before it was acquired by UBS six months ago. He will report to Michael Glazebrook, head of corporate finance in North America.

Afreximbank (The African Export-Import Bank) has mandated Citibank/SSSB, KBC Bank, Natexis Banques Populaires, RZB, Standard Chartered (bookrunner), WGZ Bank and WestLB (bookrunner) to arrange a $100m 364 day term loan, with an option for lenders to extend up to 50% of their commitment for another 270 days.

Chad Syndication of the $500m of export credit and IFC elements of the $4bn Chad Cameroon pipeline project should be wrapped up today (Friday) with the arrangers - ABN Amro (documentation, modelling and technical bank, US Ex-Im agent and joint bookrunner), Crédit Agricole Indosuez (Coface agent) and the IFC (joint bookrunner) - confident of a full book within the set timetable.

Allied Domecq has increased the level off its global MTN programme from $2 billion to $3 billion. Allied Domecq (Holdings) and Allied Domecq North American Group were added as issuers. The programme has so far issued just one note - a seven-year DM500 million ($228 million) trade in December 1998. Goldman Sachs arranged the facility.

There has been a spate of potential Russian issuers advertising their hopes of tapping the market this year, with one of them, diamond production and sales monopolist Alrosa, holding a preliminary roadshow in New York and London earlier this month. Alfabank acted as Alrosa's agent for a series of meetings with the major investment banks, as well as some commercial banks and funds interested in Russian credit.